Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong (54 years old, residing in Vang Ngoc residential group, Tay Hoa Lu ward, Ninh Binh province) is known by many people as a person with a special passion for antiques. Currently, he owns thousands of artifacts of cultural and historical value through many periods of Vietnamese history.
Mr. Cuong said that he himself was not formally trained in archeology or antique research. Everything started from a passion from a young age, then self-studied, researched and collected artifacts to bring back for display at home.
“I came to collecting antiques as a predestined relationship. From a young age, I felt the value of antiques. However, due to economic conditions and time not allowing, it was not until the 2000s that I started collecting professionally” - Mr. Cuong shared.
More than 20 years pursuing his passion, Mr. Cuong considers himself a non-professional but enthusiastic researcher. For him, the journey of collecting antiques is not only joyful when finding precious artifacts, but also times of having to pay the price.
This collection is like a gamble. Sometimes I spend a lot of effort and money but buy fake and counterfeit items. After many stumbles, I gradually accumulated experience in identifying and appraising antiques" - Mr. Cuong said.
To date, Mr. Cuong has collected more than 3,000 artifacts, spanning from the pre-Christian stone age, ceramics from the Dinh, Ly, Tran, Le dynasties to objects made from stone, ceramics, and wood from regions across the country. His collection also has many subsidized era memorabilia. In particular, he owns 7 sets of ancient stone mansion gates.
Mr. Cuong recounted that as soon as he hears information about antiques anywhere, he goes to find them all the way, day and night. There are trips that last a whole month. Because of this, many people once thought he was a "crazy person", even advising him to stop.
Family members and neighbors once thought I was crazy, crazy. But no one could extinguish that passion. The luckiest thing is that my wife always encourages me to overcome difficult times, to live fully with my passion for antiques" - Mr. Cuong shared.
During the collection journey, the memory that Mr. Cuong remembers most is finding and buying a hundred-year-old wooden painting in Son La. To own this artifact, he spent more than 15 years pursuing and repeatedly trying to persuade the owner. Finally, the homeowner agreed to transfer it to him because he was touched by his persistence and sincerity.
I want to preserve the artifacts according to the flow of Vietnamese history and leave them for future generations" - Mr. Cuong said.
Also according to Mr. Cuong, in more than 20 years of collecting, he only buys artifacts for storage, has never exchanged or resold them to anyone, although many people have asked to buy. He affirmed that his collection is not for commercial purposes at all.
Representatives of the Ninh Binh Provincial Department of Culture and Sports said that the Department has assigned the Ninh Binh Provincial Museum to coordinate with relevant units to establish an appraisal council to clearly identify artifacts and their dates. The evaluation and licensing of artifacts at private museums before display are carried out seriously and in accordance with the Law on Cultural Heritage.
This is a mandatory step to turn a personal collection into a legal cultural space with scientific and historical value. Up to now, the artifacts collected by Mr. Cuong have been appraised at the State level. Mr. Cuong has also been licensed to establish Long Giang Museum, a non-public museum located right in his family's house" - representative of Ninh Binh Department of Culture and Sports said.
